# Excel Deliverables

> Building the MS Excel workbook the MGT4897 brief requires — live-formula forecasting sheets, error-metric comparisons, the associative regression, the weighted factor model, and the capacity gap analysis, plus the charts that go into the report. Covers the Excel functions to use, how to present tables and figures in the report, and why formulas beat pasted values. Use when producing any table or figure for the report.

- Skill: `faaz17/excel-deliverables` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add faaz17/excel-deliverables`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/faaz17/excel-deliverables/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Data & Analytics
- Author: Faaz17 (https://skillmd.com/u/faaz17)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/faaz17/excel-deliverables

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# Excel deliverables

The brief requires it: *"Your report should include tables and/or figures developed using MS
Excel to visualize data and support your arguments."* Rubric item 8 marks the use of visuals.
This is not optional decoration.

## Build the workbook

    py .claude/skills/excel-deliverables/scripts/build_workbook.py

Writes `02-Analysis/DXB-Calculations.xlsx` with seven sheets:

| Sheet | Contents |
|---|---|
| `1-Data` | The provided series — the only hard-typed numbers in the file |
| `2-Passengers` | Six forecasting methods, full error columns, CFE/MAD/MSE/MAPE/TS, accuracy comparison, 2026 forecast, two charts |
| `3-Movements` | The same for flight movements |
| `4-Associative` | Passengers regressed on movements; SLOPE/INTERCEPT/RSQ/STEYX; scatter with fitted line; expected traffic at 500k/550k/600k |
| `5-Long-Term` | Projections to 2036 on three fitting bases, with a comparison chart |
| `6-Weighted-Factor` | Location decision template with SUMPRODUCT scoring |
| `7-Capacity-Gap` | Forecast demand against the 115m design capacity, with gap and utilisation columns |

Options: `--capacity`, `--long-to`, `--at`, `-o`.

**Open it in Excel and press F9 before using anything from it.** openpyxl writes formulas but
does not evaluate them; the cached values are empty until Excel calculates. A screenshot taken
before recalculation will show zeros or blanks.

## Why live formulas, not pasted values

1. The brief says the visuals must be *developed using Excel*. A sheet of typed numbers is not
   development; a sheet of formulas is
2. Change one input — an alpha, a weight, the capacity assumption — and everything downstream
   updates. During revision this saves hours and prevents the classic error of a report whose
   tables no longer agree with each other
3. A marker who opens the workbook can follow the arithmetic. Auditability is credibility
4. It removes transcription error, which is the most common source of a number in the prose
   that does not match the number in the appendix

## The Excel functions this report needs

| Purpose | Function |
|---|---|
| Moving average | `=AVERAGE(B2:B4)` |
| Weighted moving average | `=$B$23*B4+$C$23*B3+$D$23*B2` — weights in named parameter cells, never typed inline |
| Exponential smoothing | `=C4+$alpha*(B4-C4)` |
| Linear trend forecast | `=TREND(known_y, known_x, new_x)` or `=FORECAST.LINEAR(x, known_y, known_x)` |
| Regression slope / intercept | `=SLOPE(y,x)` · `=INTERCEPT(y,x)` |
| Correlation and fit | `=CORREL(x,y)` · `=RSQ(y,x)` |
| Standard error of estimate | `=STEYX(y,x)` |
| CFE | `=SUM(error_range)` |
| MAD | `=AVERAGE(abs_error_range)` |
| MSE | `=AVERAGE(squared_error_range)` |
| MAPE | `=AVERAGE(ape_range)` |
| Tracking signal | `=CFE_cell/MAD_cell` |
| Weighted factor total | `=SUMPRODUCT(weights, scores)` |
| Best model by a metric | `=INDEX(names, MATCH(MIN(metric_range), metric_range, 0))` |

Put every parameter — alphas, weights, capacity, the effective-capacity ratio — in its own
labelled cell and reference it absolutely. Parameters buried inside formulas cannot be
sensitivity-tested, and sensitivity testing is where the marks are.

## Charts for the report

Four earn their place. More than that and the 2,500 words disappear under captions.

| Figure | Type | Shows |
|---|---|---|
| Actual passenger traffic 2013–2025 | Line | The series and, unmistakably, the COVID break |
| Forecast accuracy by method | Column | MAPE or MAD side by side — makes the model choice visual |
| Passengers against flight movements | Scatter + trendline | The associative relationship, with r² displayed |
| Forecast demand vs 115m design capacity to 2036 | Line, capacity as a horizontal reference | The gap and the crossing year — this is the money chart for the COO |

Chart discipline:

- Title every chart with what it shows, not "Chart 1"
- Label both axes, with units
- Show the trendline equation and R² on the scatter (Excel: Add Trendline → Display equation
  and R-squared)
- Keep the palette restrained — two or three colours. Screenshots go into a black-and-white-
  printable report
- No 3D effects, no gradient fills, no chart junk

## Getting Excel output into the report

1. Recalculate (F9)
2. Copy the chart or table range
3. Paste into Word **as a picture** — Paste Special → Picture (Enhanced Metafile). It will not
   reflow, break, or lose its formatting when the document is converted to PDF
4. Add a numbered caption below: *Figure 3: Forecast passenger demand against DXB design
   capacity, 2026–2036. Source: author's calculations from Dubai Airports (2026).*
5. Refer to it in the text: "Figure 3 shows…". An unreferenced figure is decoration

For tables that must remain editable text — the weighted factor model, the accuracy
comparison — rebuild them as native Word tables so they are searchable and so the borders
follow the document standard. Keep the numbers identical to the workbook.

## What goes in the appendices

Main text: the summary comparison table, and the three or four figures above.

Appendices: full method-by-method workings, every error column, the complete long-term
projection table on all three bases, the full weighted factor matrix with justifications,
and any sensitivity runs. Appendices do not count toward the 2,500 words — use them.

Label appendices A, B, C and refer to each from the main text: "the full workings are at
Appendix B".

## The weighted factor sheet is a template

`6-Weighted-Factor` ships with placeholder weights and every score set to 5. **Replace all of
it.** The factors listed are plausible starting points, not answers, and the justification
column is empty on purpose. Weights that arrive unexamined from a template are exactly what
the brief warns against when it says weightings *"must reflect Dubai Airports' specific
strategic priorities, not generic ones"*.

## Before the workbook is used

- [ ] Opened in Excel and recalculated — no `#REF!`, `#DIV/0!`, `#VALUE!` anywhere
- [ ] Weights on the weighted factor sheet sum to exactly 1.00
- [ ] Every placeholder score and justification replaced
- [ ] Numbers in the report match the workbook exactly
- [ ] Charts titled, axes labelled, sources stated
- [ ] Assumptions labelled as assumptions on the sheet, not presented as data
- [ ] Submit the workbook alongside the report if the module accepts supporting files —
      check the Turnitin link, since Turnitin usually accepts only one document